


A Very Special Job

by Carrie George (YourSpinsterAunt)



Series: Why We Fight [2]
Category: Old Time Radio
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Christmas, Gen, New York City, Radio, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 08:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15360321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourSpinsterAunt/pseuds/Carrie%20George
Summary: Edie Mae's mother doesn't want to give the bad news at Christmas, but something on the radio makes her change her mind.





	A Very Special Job

Festive lights were strung up between the telephone poles and the snow was softly swirling in the street. The car was steadily warming up as they pulled away from the curb. Everyone was bundled in winter clothes, crammed in with shopping bags and parcels. They should have been a happy family, a mother and father and their daughter all finished with holiday shopping. Instead, it was as if a song had ended.

The snow began to land crisply on the windshield, then squelched heavily as drops of slushy ice followed on fast. Ahead of them, the sun was setting into a stormy sky. Traffic mounted on the way out of the shopping district. Father turned the radio dial but everything seemed to be news. Finally, mother turned it off. Father absentmindedly reached for the dial, then let his hand drop.

“You know, this time next year we might be celebrating Christmas in a very different place.”

“Honey, don’t.” Her voice had a tinge of anxiety that caught her daughter’s ear.

“I mean it! We could be on a beach in Mexico or somewhere in the Alps or—even better—the Himalayas!”

“Stop. Not yet.” There was a pause. “I wish you would wait until after Christmas.”

“It’s time to start thinking about it. Next week—“

“Give her one more Christmas. Just let her have one more Christmas. We can start talking about everything seriously after New Year’s, but please—let her be a child for just a little longer.”

“New Year’s Eve?”

“New Year’s Eve, then.”

In the back seat Edie Mae’s face was blank, as if she had not heard this exchange, but she could not ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. She swallowed convulsively and began humming a carol.

Upon arrival at their apartment building, Edie was animated, drawing smiles from people waiting in the lobby. She chattered happily in the elevator and the hallway and skipped to her bedroom.

Over the threshold of her own bedroom, she felt a cold draft. The room was silent, and the lights from the city below played on the ceiling. Her belongings seemed flat and unfamiliar against the walls, shadows stretching upwards into the darkness. Down the hall she could hear the radio announcer interrupting a program of classical music. Her smile faltered. Slipping off her shoes and her going-out dress, she started to whimper and stumble, then in a camisole and long stockings she crawled into the back of her closet and buried her face in her hands to cry.

A little while later there was a knock on the door.

“Darling? I have some Ovaltine for you.”

She scrambled from her hiding place and padded across the floor to her chest of drawers for a nightgown. The door opened. Mother stepped in and closed the door behind herself.

“I brought you your Ovaltine. And your vitamins. And I want to talk to you before you go to sleep.”

They sat together on the edge of the bed, sinking into the comforter. Mother had removed her makeup and her nose was red.

“Do you remember when your father had to… to go away for a little while? For his work? And it was just you and me for a little while? And we had Mrs. Erskine come help you with your homework.”

She nodded. Car horns sounded outside.

“Well, he may have to go away again. But I’m going to go with him this time.” She put her hands on her knees. “And you’ll have a job, too. A very spe—”

Footsteps sounded along the passageway and Father’s voice called out.

“Millie? Millie, come listen to this.”

The radio announcer's voice wavered with emotion. He shouted something incoherent and the sound abruptly cut to static.


End file.
